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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Characterization of Membrane Transporters by Heterologous Expression in E. coli and Production of Membrane Vesicles
Published on: December 31, 2019
Human MDR1 and MRP1 recognize berberine as their transport substrate
Nobukazu Shitan1, Miyako Tanaka, Koichiro Terai
1Laboratory of Plant Gene Expression, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Japan.
Abstract:
To examine whether human ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play a role in the detoxification of plant alkaloid berberine, we investigated berberine transport using multidrug resistance protein1 (MDR1) and multidrug resistance-associated protein1 (MRP1). Cells expressing MDR1 or MRP1 accumulated less berberine. Berberine accumulation depended on the cellular ATP level, and was reversed by typical inhibitors of MDR1, suggesting that human MDR1 and MRP1 directly efflux berberine as their substrate.
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